Tehran, IRNA – The following headlines appeared in English-language newspapers in the Iranian capital on Saturday, August 19, 2023:

** IRAN DAILY

--  €130m power plant unit launched in northwest

A new power plant unit came on line in Iran’s northwestern province of Ardebil near the border with Azerbaijan with an investment value of 130 million euros. A deputy CEO of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) said on Thursday that the new steam unit opened at Sabalan Combined-Cycle Power Plant has a capacity to generate 160 megawatts (MW) of electricity, according to Press TV.

Mohammad Ramazani said that the unit is a third steam unit launched at Sabalan power plant, an electricity station with six gas-fired units that has now a total generation capacity to 1.44 gigawatts.

--  Russia, Brazil explore Iran’s membership in BRICS

The president of Russia and the foreign minister of Brazil talked with their Iranian counterparts, highlighting what the Asian country could add to BRICS if its application for membership is accepted in the bloc’s upcoming summit in South Africa.
In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed ways to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, specifically in the energy sector and trade. Also, the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said Brazil and Iran have significant economic and trade capacities, and expressed the Brazilian government’s interest in the expansion of ties with Iran.

-- Head coach Ataei names Iran’s 14-man squad for Asian Volleyball Championship

Iran head coach Behrouz Ataei announced his 14-man squad for the Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship – starting today in Urmia, northwest Iran.
Middle blocker Mehdi Jelveh was the last player to be dropped for the continent’s flagship volleyball event before Iran gets its title defense underway with a game against Hong Kong in Pool A – also featuring Iraq – on Sunday.
Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi, Milad Ebadipour, Mohammad Valizadeh, Pouria Hossein Khanzadeh, Meysam Salehi, Shahrouz Homayounfarmanesh, Mobin Nasri, Amin Esmaeilnejad, Saber Kazemi, Mohammadreza Hazratpour, Arman Salehi, Mohammad-Taher Vadi, Javad Karimi, and Mohammad Fallah will represent the Asian powerhouse at the 22nd edition of the competition.

** KAYHAN INTERNATIONAL

-- Iran Launches €130mn Power Plant Unit in Northwest

A new power plant unit has come on line in Iran’s northwestern province of Ardabil near the border with Azerbaijan with an investment value of 130 million euros.
A deputy CEO of Iran’s Thermal Power Plants Holding Company (TPPH) said on Thursday that the new steam unit opened at Sabalan Combined-Cycle Power Plant has a capacity to generate 160 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
Mohammad Ramazani said that the unit is a third steam unit launched at Sabalan power plant, an electricity station with six gas-fired units that has now a total generation capacity to 1.44 gigawatts.

--  Agency Launches Production of Iran’s Most Modern Satellite

The Iranian Space Organization (ISA) has launched the production process of “Pars-3,” the country’s “most modern and accurate” satellite. “Previously, we had promised the production of remote sensing satellites with high accuracy,” Hassan Salarieh, head of the organization, said.
“Today, I proudly announce that the ISA has taken a very important step in the area of designing and producing indigenous remote sensing satellites with very good accuracy,” Salarieh added.

--  Iranian Short Films Make It to Toronto Festival

Two Iranian short films namely ‘Titanic, Suitable Version for Iranian Families’ and ‘Motherland’ have made it to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada.
The Toronto International Film Festival announced this year’s Short Cuts lineup, showcasing 42 live action narrative, documentary, and animated shorts by a groundbreaking group of filmmakers representing 23 countries.

** TEHRAN TIMES

-- Enemy seeks to polarize society on hijab: MP

Iranian lawmaker Ali Nikzad has said that the enemy has targeted the hijab as an important social factor to create societal polarizations that aim to break unity. In remarks to Mehr News, Nikzad said that no country accepts that their security whether military or cultural be endangered. 

“We all should note that the issue of hijab as an important religious and cultural factor has been targeted by the enemy, which also seeks to create unity-breaking polarizations in society using this factor,” he said, adding that the enemy will fail to achieve this goal.

--  Shahram Nazeri’s album “The Lost Poet" to be released

 "The Lost Poet", the latest album by the celebrated Iranian vocalist Shahram Nazeri is planned to be released in the near future.  Composed by Arashk Rafiei, the album contains poems by Mahmoud Moshref Azad Tehrani (M. Azad). 

Over the past years, the music artists Nazeri and Rafiei have dedicated their talents to creating and performing magnificent musical pieces as a tribute to Nima Yushij, the revered pioneer of modern Persian poetry.

--  Iran exports non-oil goods worth $1.788b to UAE in 4 months

Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $1.788 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22), the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

As reported, the UAE was the fourth top export destination of Iranian non-oil goods in the mentioned four-month period. The IRICA also announced that exporting non-oil goods worth $5.818 billion to Iran, the UAE was Iran’s first source of import in the first four months of this year.

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